Solar unit set up at Andhra CM's camp office...

 

The Andhra Pradesh chief minister’s camp office at Begumpet here will partially run on solar power hereafter and save 50 per cent power.

The incumbent, N Kiran Kumar Reddy, inaugurated the Solar Photovoltaic System installed over the roof of the building on Tuesday.

The total power load of the camp office was 60 KW, excluding air-conditioners. The installed capacity of solar system was 40 KW. The system works from 9 am to 5 pm on direct solar and 5 pm to 9 pm on battery charged by solar energy and then grid power. The saving on power bills will be about 50 per cent of the total bill.

The chief minister complimented the New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP) for its various new initiatives and directed the AP Transco to speed up the efforts for implementation of the AP State Solar Policy-2012, which has been announced recently.

The cumulative capacity sanctioned in the state including wind, solar, biomass-based, mini-hydro etc from the beginning was 4,357 MW and during 2012-13 and 2013-14 the total 1,444 MW capacity was installed. Out of this, wind energy achievement till 2010 had been 107 MW and in the last three years was 500 MW. Under the State Solar Power Policy, NREDCAP installed about 25 MW power plants on captive use and third party basis.

Labour minister Danam Nagender, marketing minister Mukesh Goud, principal secretary to chief minister Ajeya Kallam, AP Transco in-charge chairman and managing director Munindra, NREDCAP managing dirctor M Kamalakara Babu and other senior officials were present.

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according to Telangana Power Association, 4000 MW capacity to be installed to avoid severe electricity crunch in the state...

 

Telangana region might face electricity crunch post-bifurcation and around 4,000 mw power generation capacity should be built in the region, said K Raghu, honorary president, Telangana Electricity Employees Welfare Association (TEEWA), at its launch at Sundarayya Vignana Kendram, on Wednesday.

TEEWA has members from APGenco, Transco, APCPDCL and APNPDCL.

A logo with the then Hussain Sagar power plant in the centre and the monthly magazine titled Current were unveiled at the event.

Speaking on the occasion, TRS leader T Harish Rao said chief minister Kiran Kumaer Reddy is spending about Rs 5,000 crore for various projects in Chittoor district, but not looking into the fluoride problem in Nalgonda district.

TJAC chairman M Kodandaram pointed out that some politicians are claiming to have developed Hyderabad. “If that is the case, will they take responsibility for the high dropout rate in the seven districts of Telagana and water problem in Adilabad district?” he asked.

CPI state secretary K Narayana said that the Congress is dividing the Telugu people, instead of the state.

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Hyderabad water board to borrow Rs. 300 Crores to clear power dues of AP Transco...

 

To tide over the present financial crisis, Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) is contemplating to avail a bank loan to the tune of Rs 200 crore from nationalised banks to pay to AP Transco to clear power dues.

The board urgently needs to pay Rs 300 crore to AP Transco to clear power dues. The huge electricity arrears got piled up due to the drawing of about 320 million gallons of water per day (MGD) from   sources like Manjira Phases I and II, Singur Phases III and IV and  Krishna Drinking Water Supply Project (KDWSP) Phases I and II by pumping water at different stages for supplying drinking water to the consumers in Greater Hyderabad and villages in other districts en route. The power consumption by the water board is about 100 MW.

HMWS&SB officials told that the board would approach nationalised banks for loans of Rs 200 crore. The HMWS&SB’s monthly expenditure is about Rs 90 crore while the revenue is just Rs 60 crore a month, creating a monthly deficit of Rs 30 crore.

On a monthly basis, the water board incurs Rs 40 crore towards power charges but manages to pay a partial amount between Rs 20-25 crore per month to AP Transco. The remaining amount piles up as dues, they said.

The HMWS&SB revised the water tariff in December 2011 whereas the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) revised the power tariff in April 2012 which was about Rs 13 crore and Rs 20 crore in 2013. During the next financial year (2014-15), it may reach Rs 25 crore. The HMWS&SB would be in a severe financial crisis, they added.

If the state government wants to rescue HMWSS&B from the present financial crisis, they have to either allow the Board to increase the water tariff on all categories or provide funds to clear the power dues, they added.

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Alstom bags Rs 130 cr order from AP Transco...

 

Alstom T&D India on Thursday said it has been awarded contracts worth Rs 130 crore by Transmission Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Ltd (AP Transco).

The deal is to supply two air-insulated substation projects to strengthen the power supply in Andhra Pradesh.

“Alstom’s 400 kV air-insulated substations will help meet energy demand by transporting the power produced at Hinduja National Power Corporation Ltd’s 1,040-MW coal-based thermal power station in Vishakhapatnam district across the State,” the company said in a statement.

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APTransco mulls open access power to industries...

 

Transmission Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Limited (APTransco) is contemplating allowing open access power purchases (1 Mw and above) by industries from third parties to meet their energy needs.

It is planning to soon hold a high-level meet with the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry,   Confederation of the Indian Industry and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry to take their suggestions.

“Utmost priority will be given to the power infrastructure development of the industrial sector to ensure adequate power supply to the industry to the extent possible,” Suresh Chanda, chairman and managing director of APTransco, said in release.

In spite of several constraints due to fuel shortage like coal and natural gas besides transmission constraints, the state power utilities are very keen to provide adequate power supply to encourage the industry for economic development of the state and in order to provide large-scale employment generation, he added.

After taking the approval from the state Electricity Regulatory Commission (Aperc), APTransco had already introduced an expensive power scheme (EPSS) from February 2013 to June 2013, to safeguard the interest of the industry. Around 400 industrial consumers purchased power under this scheme.

APTransco officials said the pattern of electricity consumption in the industrial sector in the state had increased to 34.93 per cent in 2012-13, as against 14.99 per cent during 2001-02.

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Surcharge shocker for AP power consumers…

With the AP Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC) on Tuesday night approving the fuel surcharge proposals submitted by four discoms, nearly 2.2 crore power consumers across the state will have to cough up nearly Rs 3,050 crore passed on to them by the discoms for the power purchased by them at exorbitant rates during the years 2008-09 and 2009-10.
"The fuel surcharge will be collected from the consumers with immediate effect though there could be a delay with regard to some categories of consumers due to a stay granted by the AP High Court," AP Transco chairman Ajay Jain told TOI. According to sources, depending on the consumption, the fuel surcharge could range from Rs 120 per year to several thousand rupees per consumer.
However, in a big relief to the domestic consumers, they need not pay the fuel surcharge for 2008-09 as then chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy had agreed for the state to reimburse their share to the discoms. But industrial and commercial consumers will have to pay the fuel surcharge for 2008-09. For the year 2009-10, all consumers including domestic have to pay the surcharge as YSR's successor K Rosaiah had refused to take care of the dues of the domestic consumers. Since the 28.5 lakh agriculture farmers in the state are being supplied free power, the fule surcharge will not apply to them.
Of the total Rs 3,050 crore that the discoms are coughing up from the various consumers for those two years, the domestic sector will have to pay Rs 807 crore. "The domestic consumers will have to pay about 0.18 paise per unit in addition to their regular bill which means about 18% increase in their bills from next month onwards," said a senior official with the AP Transco.

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APERC rejects Tata Power plea to quash Rs 10cr fine for failing to supply to State Discoms…

Spark found from Market Buzz that Tata Power suffered a setback in a dispute between  the Andhra Pradesh Discoms and Tata Power after the AP Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) refused to intervene in the dispute and imposed a penalty of Rs. 10 Crore on Tata Power  for failing to supply power under the short-term power supply agreement which signed in 2010.

Taking strong objection to the violation, APTransco and four discoms imposed a penalty of Rs 9.72 crore and Rs 96.48 lakh respectively on Tata Power. After several rounds of correspondence, APTransco deducted the penalty from the amount to be paid to Tata Power.

As per the agreement, Tata Power has to supply power AP Discoms to cater  the demands of the rabi season. However, Tata Power has supplied power to other states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra and West Bengal instead of supplying power to AP.

Taken aback by APTransco's move, Tata Power later filed a petition in APERC urging it to declare the deduction of Rs 9.72 crore as null and void. However, the commission dismissed its plea.

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Update on Solar Projects in Andhra Pradesh...

Spark Network found that around 1,184 MW of Solar power projects have been proposed by various private developers in Andhra Pradesh.

The proposals have been considered by AP Transco of issuance of evacuation clearances to facilitate the developers to participate in Request for Selection (RfS) to be invited by NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVN) for final allotment.

Currently, three projects of 5 MW each under solar photovoltaic (Solar PV) and one project of 50 MW under solar thermal (CSP) route have been allotted in phase one of RfS called by NVVN.

The price quoted recently by companies like Megha Engineering at about Rs 12 is quite aggressive considering a high of Rs 19 barely two years ago.

This price is also lower than the price fixed by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) at Rs 17.91.

In addition, 11 proposals have been selected with a capacity of 10.5 MW under rooftop photo voltaic and small solar power generation programme (RPSSGP).

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